Desert Flower
by Tigerrosewood
Summary: Rose is a soft-eared rabbit, with quiet a large bounty on her head. When she continues to elude capture, Rattlesnake Jake is called in to bring her home. The outlaw is less than thrilled when he finds her in Dirt, seeming to expect him. She goes with him without a fight, but as they make their way across the desert, Jake starts to realize why she's worth so much.


The town of Goldfield was definitely not a place of righteousness. With at least one bar or whore house on every street, it was mostly inhabited by the unlawful and wicked. A place where it wasn't uncommon to find bodies pumped full of lead or a standoff in the middle of town.

All in all it was a pretty horrible place, and everyone could believe that the mayor of said place wasn't exactly a saint. There was a time in his younger years where he actually cared about Goldfield and the people in it, but that was a long time ago. Now all he cared about was furthering his plans and redeveloping the land on which the town sat.

The only thing in his way had decided to skip town, and she had taken the deed to the land with her.

Rose Abbot had been a pain in his ass since the day her daddy died. Having no other family and still being relatively young, she was left in his care until she reached her eighteenth birthday. That was four years ago, and even though she was gone now she still somehow managed to make his life a living hell.

The Abbot family had been the original founders of the town, and while Ben Abbot had planned to sell him the deed(as well as something else), their plans had gone to hell the night he put a bullet through his own skull. It had put everything on hold, seeing as how everything Ben had owned was automatically given to his only child, for her to do whatever she wanted when she was old enough.

"Mr. Harding?"

The mayor looked up from his desk to see his secretary peaking through the door. She looked nervous, which could only mean one thing.

"What is it now?" He asked, knowing it was nothing but bad news. The meek dessert mouse pushed the door open and stepped into his office, shuffling on her feet.

"Word came back," she spoke quietly, not wanting to upset the large rat more than he already was.

"And?"

"William Sterling is dead, sir."

Harding let out a deep sigh and tried to focus on not lashing out in anger. William had been one of the many bounty hunters who frequented the town, and he was the fourth person the mayor had promised a hefty reward to if they could bring back Rose.

William Sterling was considered one of the best in the Mojave desert, he was highly sought after for his work. But just like the others, his body was found in a less than forgiving state. The rat was running out of options, he only had a few months to get the deed for the land, and at this point he was desperate.

"Ms. Piddle," he called his attention to her, watching as the desert mouse shrunk in her spot.

"Y-yes, sir?" She squeaked.

"Call in the rattlesnake."

 **.**

Rose wasn't very fond of alcohol. Between the taste and less than forgiving childhood memories, she didn't drink often. Yet not long after the soft eared rabbit found herself in the town of Dirt(or Mud, as the sheriff like to call it) she had somehow gotten herself a job at the saloon.

While she didn't drink, she would happily admit how much entertainment was to be had while working with the deviled nectar, especially with the residents of this strange little town.

She had arrived about three weeks earlier, injured and dehydrated. Had she gone much longer out in the desert she probably would have died. Lucky for her, Doc had stitches up the wound on her side and gave her something for the pain. The townspeople had been weary of Rose at first, and she completely understood why, but after explaining that she was only looking for a new home they helped her settle.

Rose could admit that the place had grown on her. Unlike her hometown, the people actually cared for one another and tried to be good citizens. They weren't all out trying to stab people in the back or get their next pay. It was a nice little community and she was more than thrilled that they let her be a part of it.

She finished cleaning the glass and watch from behind the bar as sheriff Rango went off telling one of his stories again. The boys in the saloon had told her about what had happened about a year ago with the mayor and the water. About how the chameleon just suddenly showed up one day and became a hero. Rose new he used to be a pet, could tell by the way he talked when he dropped the western act. She was amazed that he had survived this long out here, most city animals not being able to handle the harsh conditions.

Percilla, a young cactus mouse with an odd fashion of death, had said the strange chameleon faced off with death and won. She didn't explain what she meant, and Rose didn't ask, just smiled at the girl and continued on with her day.

As she watched the animated movements of the sheriff her mind started to wonder. She was happy were she had ended up, happier than she had been in a long time. For the first time in her life she was care free, she didn't wake up and immediately want to walk out onto the human road. For the first time in a long time, she felt safe.

Her problem was, she couldn't be sure how long her peace would last.

Rose didn't know if her troubles had been left behind, or if they were still following her. She only knew that if she was still wanted, it was only a matter of time before someone showed up to try and take her home. She had dealt with the others and hoped that the message was clear. That she wanted _nothing_ to do with the town she had left behind.

She sighed and set down the now clean glass, watching as the sheriff finally finished his story and took his seat at the bar. Rose could only hope that fate had finally dealt her a good hand, letting her be.

But such a thought only made her laugh, for fate had never been kind to Rose Abbot.


End file.
